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KAMLOOPS - A man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a Kamloops woman he met on Tinder nearly two years ago.

Franck Yvan Tayo Tompouba was charged with one count of sexual assault stemming from an incident that took place on Dec. 23, 2017, according to a court decision published this week.

In his reasons for judgement, Justice Len Marchand says Tayo Tompouba and the complainant, who is not named in the judgement, were both in their early 20s when they met.

The Crown alleged Tayo Tompouba initiated oral intercourse with the complainant while she was asleep.

“When the complainant woke up, the Crown alleges she was so frightened that she pretended to be asleep as Mr. Tayo Tompouba continued to have oral and then had vaginal intercourse with her,” Marchand said in his decision.

Tayo Tompouba travelled to Kamloops from Williams Lake to meet the complainant. A few days after he arrived, the two went out for the night at a downtown restaurant and nightclub.

The complainant had six double drinks and some shots and Tayo Tompouba did not have anything to drink. The two left the club shortly before it closed at 2 a.m.

“The complainant described herself as intoxicated though not ‘messy’,” Marchand said.

The two grabbed snacks and drinks from a convenient store and returned to the complainant’s home. At around 3 a.m., the complainant and Tayo Tompouba stripped down to their underwear and climbed into the complainant’s bed. The two kissed and cuddled.

The complainant testified earlier in the day she had told Tayo Tompouba that she had her period and was using this as a signal that she did not want to have sex.

She gave Tayo Tompouba one last kiss and rolled over to face away from him until she fell asleep.

When she realized what was happening, the complainant closed her eyes again and pretended to sleep. She testified she did not know what to do and stated she felt nervous, scared and betrayed.

“She realized she did not really know Mr. Tayo Tompouba,” Marchand said. “Even though Mr. Tayo Tompouba had never been violent or threatened her, she was afraid he might turn violent.”

The complainant admits the next morning her memory of what happened was somewhat foggy but she denied having passed out in the midst of any sexual activity.

When the complainant asked Tayo Tompouba the next morning if they had sex, he responded by saying “No, we didn’t.”

The complainant confronted Tayo Tompouba saying through text messages she knew what he did. She then attempted to extort money from him in exchange for not going to the police. She waited several days before reporting the sexual assault to police in part because she wasn't sure how her extortion attempt would be viewed in court and about having to go through the trial process.

Tayo Tompouba did not pay any money to the complainant and once he knew he was caught, claimed responsibility, saying he knew what he did was wrong and would accept the consequences. He told her he "thought you’d wake up and enjoy it with me. I feel stupid now.”

Tayo Tompouba was arrested on March 5, 2018, and gave a voluntary video and audio recorded statement to police where he confessed to having sex with the complainant knowing she was asleep.

However, during his trial, Tayo Tompouba gave a completely different version of events and repeatedly stated that he did not agree with what he said to police.

In his trial testimony, he explained he was giving his understanding of the complainant’s version of events in his statement to police. He also stated he did not understand the questions and he only ever meant to indicate that it was wrong for him to have had sex with the complainant while she was intoxicated.

Tayo Tompouba is originally from Cameroon. He arrived in Canada in 2013 and is now a permanent resident. English is not his first language. He sought to have his statement to police excluded on the basis that police breached his Charter right to counsel by failing to inform him of his charter rights in French and his access to French speaking counsel.

Marchand dismissed this application. The judge found that during Tayo Tompouba’s interactions with police he was competent in English and gave them no reason to think otherwise.

In coming to his verdict, Marchand looked at several factors including the credibility and reliability of both witnesses who he describes both as attentive, responsive and respectful witnesses.

Marchand convicted Tayo Tompouba of sexual assault after finding the complainant did not give consent to having intercourse.

“Whether the complainant was awake or asleep, Mr. Tayo Tompouba had vaginal intercourse with the complainant while he believed her to be asleep,” he said. ”Mr. Tayo Tompuba had vaginal intercourse with the complainant without her consent and without an honest but mistaken belief in her communicated consent. As a result, I must find Mr. Tayo Tompouba guilty of sexual assault as charged.”

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